States may have a say in what happens to benefits for same-sex couples.

Supreme Court Gives ‘Early Christmas Present’

Former Houston Mayor Annise Parker’s efforts to give marriage benefits to same-sex couples was shot down a final time Monday when the Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal of a Texas Supreme Court decision that deemed her actions were illegal.

December 04, 2017

The U.S. Supreme Court announced Monday it has declined to hear a case out of Texas regarding whether or not same-sex marriage entitles homosexuals to marriage benefits reserved for heterosexual couples.

By refusing to hear the case, the high court is allowing a lower court decision to stand. That decision determined that the Obergefell v. Hodges decision did not automatically entitle same-sex married couples to the same benefits heterosexual couples receive, such as taxpayer-funded insurance benefits for government employees.

Because the matter was unresolved by the Supreme Court, jurisprudence allowed state courts to chart their own course. The timing of Houston’s benefits also played a role in the decision.

Then-Houston Mayor Annise Parker began offering the benefits in 2013, nearly two years before the Obergefell decision was handed down. As a result, same-sex marriage was still illegal in Texas, making the distribution of those benefits illegal to the Texas justices.

The Supreme Court decision to not hear the case was reported without comment. However, Jonathan Saenz, president of Texas Values—a pro-family group that directly opposed Parker’s efforts—called it “an incredible early Christmas present” from the high court.